Alta, Wyoming
By Eugene Buchanan |
It’s a tough name to live up to, like being a short, spastic Caucasian with the name Kareem. Yet while tiny Alta, Wyoming, has long lived in the skiing shadow of its more marquee namesake in Utah—as well as its world-renowned neighbor, Jackson Hole—the hidden hamlet is more than proud of the hooks on which its locals hang their hats.
Sure, there’s no store, gas station, or—gasp! —bar. Locals get their mail, groceries and happy hour margaritas seven miles away in Driggs, Idaho, or head to the Trap Bar and Grille for a sugar-rimmed, fresh huckleberry ‘Targhini” at nearby Grand Targhee. Alta itself harbors only an Episcopalian church, the Teton Teepee Lodge and a renowned 50-student K-6 school, and a backyard of the Tetons location that keeps its inhabitants happily hibernating off the radar, hoping the rest of the world doesn’t show up any time soon.
For good reason. Just a short skate-ski away lies Grand Targhee, offering fresh tracks even after the burger they have to drive for at lunchtime. In all, the resort has 2,000 acres of lift-access to explore, an additional 1,000 acres for snowcat operations, and more backcountry options than residents’ saddle-sore legs can handle. In the summer, locals hike, climb, fish, mountain bike and horseback far removed from the Jellystone masses, and then return to a world-famous bluegrass festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.
Of course, this wilderness also spells its downside.
“It’s pretty damn isolated by virtue of its geography,” says local homeowner Ben Hammond, a former director of the National Outdoor Leadership School’s Idaho Branch. “And we’re far more tied to Idaho than to Wyoming.”
Alta enjoys the best and worst of both states. Socially, it’s Idaho. Politically, it’s Wyoming. Nowhere is this better illustrated than at the 50-student K-6 school, a social hub of the town. “Our school here is an oasis in a desert of educational waste,” Hammond says of its proximity to Idaho’s lesser-funded school system.
The key to the school’s Ivy League-like status is its Cowboy State locale. Swimming in oil and gas revenues, the state has invested heavily in education, with Alta’s K-6 a lucky recipient. Of course, residents have to have kids to enjoy it, but with the town’s isolation and long winter nights that’s usually not a problem. While the town had 400 residents at last count, it likely ballooned nine months later.
Alas, even its romantic isolation might soon change. In 2000, CEO George Gillett Jr., with his four sons, bought Grand Targhee from Booth Creek Holdings. In 2004 they completed a land swap with the forest service, trading 400 acres adjacent to Yellowstone National Park for 120 acres at the resort’s base. The company is now in the planning phase of expanding the resort’s lodging capacity from its current 96 to 500 units—100 more than Alta’s entire population. “Alta’s an authentic and fabulous family community,” maintains Targhee vice-president of marketing Susie Barrett-Bushong. “But I don’t think it should be too affected by what happens in Targhee.”
Locals don’t necessarily agree. “There are big changes in store, which have people pretty nervous in little ol’ Alta,” says Hammond. Adds Diane Jung, co-owner of Alta-based Rendezvous Backcountry Tours: “Life in Alta is about as idyllic as it gets, with the Tetons literally in our backyard. But our lifestyle is threatened—we know change is on the horizon.”
Still, if its residents have lived with their town’s name all these years, weathering this latest threat should be old hat. Then again, history’s not exactly on its side. The town of Hudson, Wyoming, in nearby Fremont County officially changed its name from Alta in 1909.
Alta Overview
Pop.: 400 (223 male; 177 female)
Median Household Income: $64,800
Median House/Condo Price: $388,700
Elevation: 6,440
People per square mile: 3.1
Most Popular Industry: Men: 48% construction; 16 % agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting. Women: 24% food and beverage; 20% educational services.
Nearest town > 50,000: 73 miles
(Idaho Falls, pop.: 50,450)
Nearest Institute of Higher Learning: Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho (48 miles)
No registered sex offenders
Company Profile
Rendezvous Backcountry Tours
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2006, Rendezvous Ski Tours moved to Alta from nearby Victor, Wyoming, when ownership changed gloves to locals Jeff and Diane Jung. Taking advantage of more than 500 inches of annual snowfall, the company employs up to eight guides each winter, who take clients to a series of yurts on the western slope of the Tetons in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness Area, and into Grand Teton National Park.
Info: (307) 353-2900
info@skithetetons.com
